Category: Learning Challenges

When Dominic started seventh grade back in August, one of the electives he chose was Choir. I liked that he wanted to do Choir, because it meant that he’d be with many of the same kids he’s been with for the past couple of years. At the concerts, about 75% of the time he doesn’t sing, … More When a Class Embraces Your Special Needs Child

As she sat there reading her book word-for-word, I felt a sense of determination. Ella loves to read and therefore has plenty of motivation when it comes to memorizing sight words. “We’ll show them,” I thought, “they think that she can’t learn alongside her peers, but we’ll work hard and make it happen.” I had … More It’s Not My Daughter’s Job to Prove How Well She Can Learn

We resisted medicating Lucas for his ADHD for three years. Like many parents before us, we took the try-everything-else-first route, which served a twofold purpose: First, it acted as a defensive barrier against those who might secretly accuse us of lazy parenting. “Ah, yeah, we’re drugging our kid. But don’t worry, we’re not lazy parents; … More I Admit It: I Like My Child Better When He Is Drugged

My daughter with ADHD has a tendency to overdramatize things that happen to her. If she stubs her toe, then that day becomes “the worst day in the world!” If she gets one spelling word incorrect on her test, she says, “I’m the dumbest kid in the world.” I love my second grader to pieces, but to say … More I Didn’t Believe My Daughter When She Said She Was Being Bullied

“I asked the district at that point to give me the closest thing they could legally to the FCAT reading and math test, and I took it. That test labelled me as a poor reader, and I have a couple of masters’ degrees, and I’ve been re-elected four times and I teach 39 graduate courses at six universities in this country.” ~Guest … More Why Standardized Testing is Stupid

I couldn’t stop staring at two words on my computer screen: Intellectual Disability. After five years of doctor appointments, tests and more tests, we had several conditions finally diagnosed for our daughter. Our search included two neurologists, two geneticists, pediatricians and development delay specialists that spanned two states. It’d been a long journey to diagnosis … More Accepting the Words Intellectual Disability

“Teachers need as much parental help as they can get. I appreciate parents who become involved in the learning process and interact with me about testing. If your school has email for the instructors, that can be an easy way to find out what each teacher doing with your child.” ~Teacher and parent of child … More A Sample Letter to Teacher about Your Child with Special Needs